Preprint

UCRL-JC-139909

Temperature Measurement
on Shocked Surfaces

P. Poulsen, D. Baum, P. Fiske, D. Holtkamp

This article was submitted to

51st Meeting of the Aeroballistic Range Association,
Madrid, Spain, September 18-21, 2000

August 8, 2000

Approved for public release; further dissemination unlimited

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 Temperature Measurement on Shocked Surfaces
Peter Poulsen, Dennis Baum, Peter Fiske,
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory,
and
David Holtkamp,
Los Alamos National Laboratory

Abstract
We have used a two-stage gas gun to address issues relating to the accurate
determination of the temperature of a shocked metal surface at a metal / LiF interface. We
have investigated the light flash generated by the dynamics at the interface, the light sources
at the LiF boundary that can contaminate the emission from the metal surface, and the light
emitted from defects in the LiF crystal as it is being shocked. A seven-channel spectrometer
with fiber-optic transmission of light from the target was used, and a Hohlraum geometry
was used to increase the effective emissivity of the target. The method that yielded the best
results is described and is expected to be useful for a wide range of applications.

Temperature measurement
The measurement of temperature is an important check on the constitutive equations
for materials that are used in numerical simulations. For example, the ductility of a metal is a
function of the temperature, and numerical simulations of shaped charge jet formation
depend on the accurate knowledge of the relationships.

It is necessary to eliminate or quantify all additional sources of light when measuring

the emitted light from a shocked surface. Light sources are plentiful and include light from
the gun environment, light generated at the metal / LiF anvil interface, and light generated
due to edges and jets that are subjected to large amounts of shear. In addition, it has been
found that the LiF anvil itself can emit light after the passage of the shock.

The muzzle flash from the gun environment can be largely eliminated by using a
fiber-optic connection between the target and the diagnostic, arranging the shielding such
that only the fibers have access to the shocked surface. We arranged to collaborate with
David Holtkamp at LANL who had developed a state-of-the-art multi-channel spectrometer
using fiber optics (Fig. 1). The fiber optics were constructed at and supported by Bechtel
Nevada (Los Alamos). The experiments were run at the LLNL two-stage gas gun under the
leadership of Peter Fiske.

1
 The experiments investigated techniques that would minimize contamination of the
emitted light from the shocked metal surface, and at the same time maximize the emitted
light. Gaps and microscopic irregularities in the interface between the metal surface and the
LiF crystal give rise to a flash of light as it is traversed by the shock. A primary objective of
the experiments was to minimize this effect. A second source of light was due to either
coating on the crystal, or jetting at the crystal / metal surface junction. This was eliminated
by using a geometry where the shock did not reach the crystal edge during the period of
interest. A third and important source of light is the crystal itself; emission from the crystal
was investigated by using the crystal as both the flyer and the target. We’ll describe the series
of experiments where these issues were addressed, and show that an experimental
configuration was found that appears to be satisfactory.

Having acquired some confidence in the validity of the experimental technique, we

are now building a similar spectrometer, which takes advantage of recent developments in
fiber-optic technology. This spectrometer will be used initially to measure the temperature of
shocked surfaces, and then the temperature of surfaces that have been isentropically
compressed. The latter information will provide important information on the constitutive
relationship for the compressed materials.

Blackbody
P-22 Pyrometer
Chopper Configuration
Channel Spectral range (µm)
Experimental setup
1 1.00 – 2.50
Seven fiber bundle
2 1.27 – 2.50
Lenses & 3 2.00 – 2.38
filters 4 1.50 – 1.80
5 1.13 – 1.35
6 0.79 – 0.82
7 0.69 – 0.72

InSb (5) & PMT (2) Detectors

Amplifiers

Data Acquisition

Figure 1. A schematic of the multi-channel pyrometer.

LiF light emission

The emission of light by shocked LiF can be a serious problem when the LiF crystal
is used as an anvil for a shocked material surface. In the first set of experiments we measured
the light generated when two LiF crystals collided. Two experiments were conducted, one
with an impact velocity of 0.7 km/sec and another with an impact velocity of 1.8 km/sec. The
result is shown in Fig. 2. At a velocity of 0.7 km/sec, little light is generated, especially at
early times; at the greater velocity plenty of light is generated. However, in this experiment

2
we exceed the strength of LiF during the acceleration of the LiF projectile, leaving the
interpretation of the results uncertain.

Three features in Fig. 2 merit discussion. The first (labeled “X-Ray”) was generated
in the photomultiplier detectors by the electromagnetic emission of the second flash x-ray
unit used to measure the flyer plate velocity and tilt. The second feature (“Impact Gas
Flash”) is most likely the emission of the shocked residual gas remaining in the imperfect
vacuum of the target chamber. An important feature is created about two microseconds after
impact and is a marked increase in the emission from the LiF. At this point we are uncertain
about the origin of this emission. Mechanisms suggested include the interaction between the
shock wave compression and defects in the crystal, and by tension and cracking associated
with the release waves from the crystal edges. It is important for the measurement of the
metal surface temperature to be able to control the magnitude and / or timing of the light
emitted from the crystal.

In a later experiment, we used the LiF as an anvil for a shocked copper disc. The
geometry largely eliminated edge effects and used a Hohlraum to increase the effective
emissivity of the copper surface. The geometry is illustrated in Fig. 3. In this experiment, the
Cu disk was impacted by a Cu flyer at a velocity of 1.8 km/sec. The LiF was coated with
5000 Angstrom of copper at the interface with the metal target. The emissivity of the plated
copper was extremely low, limiting the emission from the copper surface. It was apparent,
however, that the LiF did emit with increasing magnitude after the shock entered the LiF
(Fig. 4). It appears to be possible to measure the metal surface radiation without the
contribution from the LiF crystal at a time of 0.5 to 0.7 microsecond after shock breakout,
but after that the emission from the crystal produces an optical contamination.

The conclusion from these experiments is that the LiF crystal does not emit
significantly at low pressures (50 kbar or less), but can and does emit at higher pressures. The
emission is observed to be low at early times after the shock breakout, and this allows the
measurement to be taken even at high pressure. It is important to have sufficient time
resolution in the diagnostic and to minimize the interface flash so the temperature
measurement can be accomplished before the emission from the LiF crystal is significant.
Since the emission from the metal surface is constant as long as the metal/LiF interface is
held at constant pressure, it is possible to measure the equilibrium temperature of the
partially released metal at the interface.

Metal — crystal interface emission

Examination of the data in Fig. 4 shows that a flash of light was emitted as the shock
passed the metal — crystal interface. For this experiment, the LiF crystal was polished and
coated with layer of copper. The copper surface was also polished and the two surfaces were
held in contact by mechanical means. No glue or other material was introduced between the
surfaces to eliminate the microscopic void spaces.

3
An experiment was performed that was similar to that of Fig. 3, except that this time we used
Stycast glue to fill the void between the Cu coating on the LiF crystal and the copper target.
This approach appears to have caused problems since the pyrometry signals (not shown)
exhibited large and irregular peaks, especially in the visible channels. Our interpretation was
that the Stycast glue radiates strongly when shocked and was shining through cracks (or
pinholes) in the copper coating on the LiF crystal.

X-Ray
LiF Shock
Impact Gas
Breakout
Flash
3.56 µs

Figure 2. The emission of light from LiF impacted at 0.7 km/s is small.

5x30 mm Au coating
Copper
LiF Trigger
Anvil Pins

Sabot
Fiber
Bundle
15 mm
1.8 km/sec
Brass
5x75 mm Copper & Baseplate
Copper Coating on LiF
Figure 3. The Cu / LiF Hohlraum configuration.

4
 A subsequent experiment was performed with a greater emissivity molybdenum
target to increase the signal from the metal surface. Again, a highly reflecting Hohlraum
enclosure was employed to maximize the signals, but the side of the LiF crystal facing the
target was not coated with metal. It was left polished but bare, and the space between the
target and the LiF crystal was filled by a less than one-micrometer thick layer of UV curable
glue. This experiment appeared to work very well, as shown in Fig. 5. The infrared channels
are the strongest and exhibit a regular behavior. The best estimate of the surface temperature
of the moly is 683 +/– 41 degrees Kelvin. The decrease about one microsecond after shock
breakout breakout appears to result from a reduction in the pressure at the Mo/LiF outer
radial region of the shocked interface resulting in a decrease in the area of the surface having
a high temperature. The subsequent increase in the signal is associated with radiation from
the LiF is similar to that observed in the other experiments and is not fully understood at this
time.

1st Release
Reaches
Interface
Shock Exit from LiF

Work on
Coating(?)

Shock Interface
Breakout Equilibrium

Figure 4. These data illustrate the interface flash and the rise in emission due to the LiF.

5
Figure 5. Excellent data was obtained with no metal coating on the LiF and with UV glue at the
interface

Plans and objectives of future experiments

It appears that using a thin layer of UV cured adhesive (to eliminate the interface
flash problem) and using a Hohlraum configuration to increase the effective emmisivity
(hence the emission from the shocked surface) enabled us to obtain a quantitative
measurement of the radiation and to calculate the surface temperature. The emission from the
LiF crystal has not been eliminated, but the minimization of the flash combined with fast
diagnostics enables us to obtain a measurement before the contamination from the crystal
radiation is significant. There will be cases involving large shock strengths where it may not
be possible to avoid the crystal radiation. In those cases it may be possible to estimate the
contribution and subtract it from the signal.

One of the difficulties in using fiber optics to transmit the radiation from the target to
the detector is that infrared capable fibers are difficult to work with (being extremely brittle)
and have significant transmission losses. Recent work at universities and in industry has
improved this situation. In particular, hollow core fibers appear to perform well and are
sufficiently rugged for the present application.

Since the series of experiment described above showed that it is possible to obtain an
accurate measurement of the radiation from a shocked surface, we have decided to build a
device similar to that developed by Holtkamp (and collaborators), taking advantage of recent
improvements in fiber technology. This instrument will fist be employed to measure the
temperature of shocked surfaces in experiments similar to those described above. It will then
be used to measure the internal energy generated during an isentropic radial compression.
This data will be valuable in distinguishing between various choices for the constitutive
relations for a given metal.

6
 Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the help of Leonard Tabaka, Joeseph Garcia and Patrick
Rodriguez (LANL) for the help with fielding the pyrometry and data recording, and Sam
Weaver and Bill Metz (LLNL) for their help in successfully completing these experiments on
the two stage gun. We would like to acknowledge the help of Douglas DeVore and David
Simmons (Bechtel) who helped both with the preparation of the fiber optics and
characterization of the pyrometer. We also thank Neil Holmes for several pleasant and
helpful discussions.

Disclaimer

This document was prepared as an account of work sponsored by an agency of the United
States Government. Neither the United States Government nor the University of California
nor any of their employees, makes any warranty, express or implied, or assumes any legal
liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information,
apparatus, product, or process disclosed, or represents that its use would not infringe
privately owned rights. Reference herein to any specific commercial product, process, or
service by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise, does not necessarily
constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favoring by the United States
Government or the University of California. The views and opinions of authors expressed
herein do not necessarily state or reflect those of the United States Government or the
University of California, and shall not be used for advertising or product endorsement
purposes.

This work was performed under the auspices of the U.S. Department of Energy by the
University of California Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory under contract No. W-
7405-Eng-48.